New Bedford football has bright future in unbeaten freshmen team

Things are looking up for New Bedford High football — a 49-28 win over Durfee gave the Whalers their first winning season since 2001.

TIM WEISBERG

Things are looking up for New Bedford High football — a 49-28 win over Durfee gave the Whalers their first winning season since 2001.

But at 6-4-1 the varsity Whalers came up five wins short of their freshmen counterparts, who finished the season a perfect 11-0.

"This is the first time I've coached an undefeated team," said Steve Esteves, who shares the freshmen head coaching duties with Fred Pimentel. "The last few years, we've had some really good teams, but this was something else."

The string of success began in 2006, when the current crop of varsity seniors were just starting their high school careers. That team went 8-1-1 and, featured current Whalers such as Jon Gomes, Jon Williams and Blaine Hopwood. The next season, the freshmen were 7-2-1, and last year they amassed a new record for wins with a 9-2 mark.

That record was surpassed this season by the only undefeated freshman team that Esteves can recall. To reach that level of success, it took more than just football skill and talent.

"This team's success was the by-product of their character and dedication," Esteves said. "They wanted to be challenged. They wanted to be pushed."

Esteves said it was hard to even pick out captains from such a quality group.

"It was hard to single anyone out, because they all took it upon themselves to do the right thing, whether it was in school or on the field," he said.

While each of New Bedford's co-head coaches was quick to place all the credit on the players themselves, it helps that they're getting great leadership from the sidelines.

"We're very lucky to have two freshmen coaches in Steve Esteves and Fred Pimentel, who are outstanding," varsity head coach Dennis Golden said. "They're both alums here and both played four years of college football, so they're getting great coaching from the freshmen year up. I'm the luckiest guy in America to have those two guys coaching the freshmen team."

It's no surprise that Esteves and Pimentel share a similar coaching philosophy. Pimentel's first two years coaching football at New Bedford High, beginning in 1990, were also Esteves' last two as a player. When Pimentel started the Whalers' successful wrestling program in 1999 and was looking for an assistant, he brought Esteves on board. The two have been co-head coaches of the freshman football team for the past six years and are always on the same page.

"We both just want to push the kids as far as they can go," Esteves said. "Coaches can always come across good athletes, sometimes even great ones. But what matters is when you can make the connection and get them to flip the switch."

That switch was flipped very early for the Whalers, even if the coaches had yet to realize it at the time.

"It's almost tough to tell just how good this team is," Pimentel said. "We didn't really have a challenging game this season. The kids were able to always get ahead and never had to come from behind. Of course, that's not a bad thing."

With early-season wins over teams like Bishop Stang and Silver Lake, it became clear the freshman Whalers were going to be a solid team.

"The first few weeks, we wondered if we were just lucky," Pimentel said.

It wasn't until they faced perennial freshman powerhouse Bridgewater-Raynham in week four and toppled them 21-0 that the Whalers thought they could run the table.

"That was the game that let us know where we stand," Esteves said. "They were really whacking teams, and we beat them pretty good."

From there, wins over teams like Barnstable, Cambridge Rindge and Latin, Brockton and Durfee helped fuel the flawless record.

"I said to Fred quite a bit this year that it's almost too easy," Esteves said. "These kids were so motivated, so eager to learn."

Even though Esteves stressed the total team concept for the freshmen, there is one player who is already turning heads. Mike Rapoza played both quarterback and safety for the freshmen Whalers, and his coach believes that if the varsity team didn't already have the talented Blaine Hopwood under center, Rapoza could have made the jump this season.

"He's the best I've ever coached. He's just a competitor, someone who has that special 'it' factor," Esteves said. "Mikey's just at a different level, and he does everything well."

Pimentel agreed.

"You never want to label a kid too early, but he's the special kind of player that only comes along once in a great while," he said. "He's got all the intangibles ­— athleticism, competitiveness, leadership. He's the total package."

While Rapoza seems ready to make the leap to varsity, he's likely not the only one. The hard part is keeping such a strong group together, as other interests and pursuits often pull away some members of even the most successful teams.

"We stress to the kids the importance of staying together, to try to carry this success on to the next level," Pimentel said. "And we want them to know that when they put on a New Bedford jersey, it's not just for themselves or their teammates but for everyone that ever put on that jersey."